Friday, April 13, 2012

Spitting in public soon to be a crime

Spitting in public will soon become a crime, if a House bill is passed into law.

House Bill 5901, which was filed by Alliance of Volunteer Educators party-list representative Eulogio Magsaysay, penalizes six months of jail and a fine of up to P2,000 for violators.

Anti-spitting laws have been enacted in the jurisdictions of neighboring countries like Malaysia, China, and Singapore. Only in Davao City that the similar law was implemented in 2010.

Magsaysay said the bill will curb the spread of tuberculosis, hepatitis, and other diseases.

"Mycobacterism tubercolosis, the bacteria which causes TB, can survive in a dried state for weeks up to eight months. Spitting has been identified as one of the factors in the spread of TB," Magsaysay citing a World Health Organization (WHO) report.